FoodBank South Africa (FBSA) and international hunger relief agency Stop Hunger Now Southern Africa (SHN SA) teamed up at the end of last year to deliver 30,000 meals to organisations serving vulnerable children.
All of the food – 2.2 tons – was donated by SHNSA, which specialises in packaging meals and distributing it and other lifesaving aid to children and families in countries all over the world. To date, the organisation has provided more than $70 million (R480m) worth of direct aid and 34 million meals to 72 countries worldwide.
Barry Mey, the director of SHNSA, said his organisation had chosen FBSA as a strategic partner and sought to work more closely with it in the future. “We believe in working together and supporting the efforts of other organisations doing good work. The fight against hunger can be won if we work together.”
Mey said: “Stop Hunger Now meals are highly nutritious. They’re dehydrated meals comprising rice, soy, vegetables, flavouring and 21 essential vitamins and minerals. Each package provides a reasonable-size serving for six people and costs R12 to make. The meals are easy to transport, store and distribute to those in greatest need.”
David Jacobs, the agency manager for FBSA, said the meals donated by SHNSA had been distributed to 320 agencies countrywide. About 40 percent of FBSA agencies serve children.
“We chose 288 Early Childhood Development centres (creches, educares, pre-schools), 27 centres serving orphans and vulnerable children (mostly drop-in centres / child-headed households) and three school feeding schemes. These agencies have between 20 to 150 beneficiaries.”
One of the agencies that received the SHNSA meals was Denver Community Creche, an early childhood development centre that also runs an aftercare programme for junior school children.
Denver is a community built largely around Zulu migrant labour that lived in the Denver Men’s Hostel. The hostel is in the process of being converted into family units, and there is also a small informal settlement around the hostel. The creche has 40 children, 20 of whom are from unemployed households and attend for free. The other 20 pay school fees of R20 a month.
Buzi Zondo, who works at the crèche said: “The Stop Hunger Now product is easy to prepare, and with a little bit of tomato soup or sauce the children enjoy it. For many children, breakfast and lunch at the creche are the only two full meals they have in the day, and we are thankful to FoodBank and Stop Hunger Now Southern Africa for these nutritious meals.”
Hope for the Helpless in Mofolo North in Soweto was another of the organisations to receive the food.
